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Abstract:

A method and associated apparatus for using visual separators to indicate
additional character combination choices from a disambiguation function
on a handheld electronic device.

Claims:

1.-20. (canceled)

21. A method of enabling input on an electronic device comprising at
least one processor and a display, the method comprising: generating,
using the at least one processor, a set of character combinations based,
at least in part, on a first input; displaying on the display a first
subset of said set of character combinations and a first indicator
representative of the availability of a second subset of said set of
character combinations in response to a selection of a first input; and
responsive to detecting a selection of the first input, displaying on the
display said second subset and a second indicator representative of the
availability of said first subset in response to a selection of a second
input, wherein the second input is different than the first input.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: responsive to
detecting a selection of the first input, displaying on the display a
third indicator representative of the availability of a third subset of
said set of character combinations in response to another selection of
the first input; detecting another selection of the first input;
displaying on the display said third subset; and displaying on the
display a fourth indicator representative of the availability of said
second subset in response to a selection of the second input.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: detecting
another selection of the first input; and redisplaying on the display at
least a portion of said first subset in place of at least a portion of
said third subset, and displaying said first indicator.

24. The method according to claim 21, further comprising displaying on
the display as said first indicator a graphic having a portion that is
elongated in a vertical direction.

25. The method according to claim 21, further comprising displaying on
the display as said first indicator a graphic having a portion that is
elongated in a vertical direction and a pointing portion that points
horizontally towards a first direction.

26. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: displaying on
the display as said second indicator a graphic having a portion that is
elongated in a vertical direction and a second pointing portion that
points horizontally towards a second direction.

27. The method according to claim 21, wherein said first subset comprises
a plurality of alternative character combinations, said method further
comprising displaying a visual separator between each adjacent pair of
alternative character combinations.

28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising: displaying on
the display as each of said first indicator, said second indicator, and
said visual separator between each adjacent pair of alternative character
combinations, a graphic having a common visual appearance.

29. An electronic device, comprising: a display; a processor; and a
memory having instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause
said electronic device to perform operations comprising: generating a set
of character combinations based, at least in part, on a first input;
displaying a first subset of said set of character combinations and a
first indicator representative of the availability of a second subset of
said set of character combinations in response to a selection of a first
input; and responsive to detecting a selection of the first input,
displaying said second subset and a second indicator representative of
the availability of said first subset in response to a selection of a
second input, wherein the second input is different than the first input.

30. The electronic device of claim 29, wherein said instructions, when
executed by the processor, further cause said electronic device to
perform operations comprising: responsive to detecting a selection of the
first input, displaying a third indicator representative of the
availability of a third subset of said set of character combinations in
response to another selection of the first input; detecting another
selection of the first input; displaying said third subset; and
displaying a fourth indicator representative of the availability of said
second subset in response to a selection of the second input.

31. The electronic device of claim 30, wherein said instructions, when
executed by the processor, further cause said electronic device to
perform operations comprising: detecting another selection of the first
input; and redisplaying at least a portion of said first subset in place
of at least a portion of said third subset, and displaying said first
indicator.

32. The electronic device of claim 29, wherein said first indicator
comprises a graphic having a portion that is elongated in a vertical
direction.

33. The electronic device of claim 29, wherein said first indicator
comprises a graphic having a portion that is elongated in a vertical
direction, and a pointing portion that points horizontally towards a
first direction.

34. The electronic device of claim 29, wherein said second indicator
comprises a graphic having a portion that is elongated in a vertical
direction and a second pointing portion that points horizontally towards
a second direction.

35. The electronic device of claim 29, wherein said first subset
comprises a plurality of alternative character combinations, and wherein
said instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause said
electronic device to perform operations comprising: displaying a visual
separator between each adjacent pair of alternative character
combinations.

36. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein each of said first
indicator, said second indicator, and said visual separator between each
adjacent pair of alternative character combinations comprise a graphic
having a common visual appearance.

37. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for
an electronic device, the instructions, when executed by a processor,
causing the electronic device to perform operations comprising:
generating a set of character combinations based, at least in part, on a
first input; displaying a first subset of said set of character
combinations and a first indicator representative of the availability of
a second subset of said set of character combinations in response to a
selection of a first input; and responsive to a selection of the first
input, displaying said second subset and a second indicator
representative of the availability of said first subset in response to a
selection of a second input, wherein the second input is different than
the first input.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein said
instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause said
electronic device to perform operations comprising: responsive to
detecting a selection of the first input, displaying a third indicator
representative of the availability of a third subset of said set of
character combinations in response to another selection of the first
input; detecting another selection of the first input; displaying said
third subset; and displaying a fourth indicator representative of the
availability of said second subset in response to a selection of the
second input.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein said
instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause said
electronic device to perform operations comprising: detecting another
selection of the first input; and redisplaying at least a portion of said
first subset in place of at least a portion of said third subset, and
displaying said first indicator.

40. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein said
first subset comprises a plurality of alternative character combinations,
and wherein said instructions, when executed by the processor, further
cause said electronic device to perform operations comprising: displaying
a visual separator between each adjacent pair of alternative character
combinations.

Description:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The instant application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/588,581 filed on Nov. 10, 2006, entitled "Method
of Using Visual Separators to Indicate Additional Character Combination
Choices on a Handheld Electronic Device and Associated Apparatus," the
contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] 1. Field

[0003] The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to handheld
electronic devices that employ a text disambiguation function and, more
particularly, to an improved method of displaying character combination
choices that are generated by a text disambiguation function on the
handheld electronic device.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples
of such handheld devices include, for instance, personal data assistants
(PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the
like. Many handheld electronic devices also feature wireless
communication capability, although many such handheld devices are
stand-alone devices that are functional without communication with other
devices.

[0006] Such handheld electronic devices are generally intended to be
portable, and thus are of a relatively compact configuration in which
keys and other input structures often perform multiple functions under
certain circumstances or may otherwise have multiple aspects or features
assigned thereto. With advances in technology, handheld electronic
devices are built to have progressively smaller form factors yet have
progressively greater numbers of applications and features resident
thereon. As a practical matter, the keys of a keypad can only be reduced
to a certain small size before the keys become relatively unusable.

[0007] One way of providing numerous letters in a small space has been to
provide a "reduced keyboard" in which multiple letters, symbols, and/or
digits, and the like, are assigned to any given key. For example, a
touch-tone telephone includes a reduced keyboard by providing twelve
keys, of which ten have digits thereon, and of these ten keys, eight have
letters assigned thereto. For instance, one of the keys includes the
digit "2" as well as the letters "A", "B", and "C" assigned thereto.
Since a single actuation of such a key potentially could be intended by
the user to refer to any of the letters "A", "B", and "C", and
potentially could also be intended to refer to the digit "2", the input
(by actuation of the key) generally is an ambiguous input and is in need
of some type of disambiguation in order to be useful for text entry
purposes.

[0008] In order to enable a user to make use of the multiple letters,
digits, and the like on any given key in a reduced keyboard, a
software-based text disambiguation function is utilized. In such a
system, a user typically presses keys to which one or more characters
have been assigned, generally pressing each key one time for each desired
letter, and the disambiguation software attempts to disambiguate the
intended input. One example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/931,281, entitled "Handheld Electronic Device
With Text Disambiguation," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein
by reference. As is known, many such systems display an output component
as the user is typing (pressing keys) that includes a list of possible
intended input character strings (i.e., possible interpretations of what
the user intended while typing) that are generated by the disambiguation
software.

[0009] In many current software-based text disambiguation systems, an
output component, which includes the list of possible intended inputs
that is generated by the disambiguation software, is output on the
display of the handheld electronic device. A problem arises when the
length of a possible intended input is so large that the remaining
possible intended inputs cannot fit on the display. Additionally, another
problem also arises when the number of possible intended inputs is so
high that all of the possible intended inputs cannot fit on the display.
In these situations, the list is typically split and the user must take
some additional action, such as scrolling a thumbwheel or pressing a
predetermined function button, to move from one possible intended input
to the next possible intended input. The shortcoming with current
systems, however, is that the indicators, which indicate that there are
additional possible intended inputs beyond the one possible intended
input that is currently being displayed, do not adequately tell the user
where the additional possible intended inputs are located in relation to
the possible intended input that is currently being displayed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] A full understanding of the disclosed and claimed concept can be
gained from the following description when read in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings in which:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment of an improved handheld
electronic device in accordance with the disclosed and claimed concept;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of the handheld electronic device
of FIG. 1;

[0013] FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B depict each depict an output that can be
generated on the improved handheld electronic device of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 4 depicts another output that can be generated on the improved
handheld electronic device of FIG. 1; and

[0015] FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of an improved
method in accordance with the disclosed and claimed concept.

DESCRIPTION

[0016] As used herein, the phrase "a number of" or variations thereof
means one or an integer greater than one.

[0017] As used herein, the phrase "alphanumeric" or variations thereof
shall broadly refer to a letter, such as a Latin letter, and/or a digit
such as, without limitation, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, and
combinations thereof.

[0018] Directional phrases used herein, such as, for example, upper,
lower, left, right, vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, above, beneath,
clockwise, counterclockwise and derivatives thereof, relate to the
orientation of the elements shown in the drawings and are not limiting
upon the claims unless expressly recited therein.

[0019] One embodiment of a handheld electronic device 2 in accordance with
the disclosed and claimed concept is depicted generally in FIG. 1. The
handheld electronic device 2 of FIG. 1 is depicted schematically in FIG.
2. The handheld electronic device 2 includes a housing 4 upon which are
disposed a processor unit that includes an input apparatus 6, an output
apparatus 8, a processor 10, a memory 12, and a wireless transceiver 13.
The processor 10 may be, for instance, and without limitation, a
microprocessor (μP) and is responsive to inputs from the input
apparatus 6 and provides output signals to the output apparatus 8. The
processor 10 also interfaces with the memory 12 which, as will be
discussed in greater detail below, contains one or more routines that are
used to implement the disclosed and claimed concept. The processor 10 and
the memory 12 together form a processor apparatus.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, the input apparatus 6 includes a keypad 14 and
a navigational input member 16. The keypad 14 is in the exemplary form of
a reduced QWERTY keyboard including a plurality of keys 18 that serve as
input members. Many of the keys 18 each have a plurality of characters
assigned thereto. The keypad 14 also includes an <ALT> key 20, an
<ENTER> key 22, and a <SPACE> key 23. It is noted, however,
that the keypad 14 may be of other configurations, such as an AZERTY
keyboard, a QWERTY keyboard, a QWERTZ keyboard or another keyboard
arrangement, whether or not reduced, and whether presently known or
unknown.

[0021] The keys 18 are located on a front face 24 of the housing 4, and
the navigational input member 16, which is in the exemplary form a
trackball 36, is disposed on the front face 24 of the housing 4 as well.
The trackball 36 is rotatable in various directions thereby allowing for
the navigation of the cursor 32, which is displayed on the output
apparatus 8, in various directions including up, down, left, right, and
any combination thereof. Moreover, the trackball 36 can also be depressed
to provide a selection or other input based upon the current location of
the cursor 32. Accordingly, rotation of the trackball 36 can navigate the
cursor 32 over a particular program icon 34, while depression of the
trackball 36 can launch the program. It should be noted that a trackwheel
(not shown), which can be disposed on a side 26 of the housing 4, can be
used in lieu of the trackball 36. Similar to the trackball, the
trackwheel can serve as input member since the trackwheel is capable of
being rotated in a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction as well as
being depressed. Rotation of the trackwheel can provide a navigation or
other input, while depression of the trackwheel can provide a selection
or other input. For example, if a cursor 32 is located over a given
program icon 34, that program will be launched when the trackwheel is
depressed.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 2, the memory 12 can be any of a variety of types
of internal and/or external storage media such as, without limitation,
RAM, ROM, EPROM(s), EEPROM(s), and the like that provide a storage
register for data storage such as in the fashion of an internal storage
area of a computer, and can be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory. As
can be seen from FIG. 2, the memory 12 is in electronic communication
with the processor 10. The memory 12 additionally can include one or more
routines depicted generally with the numeral 38 for the processing of
data. The routines 38 can be in any of a variety of forms such as,
without limitation, software, firmware, and the like.

[0023] The output apparatus 8 includes a display 40 upon which can be
provided an output 42. A number of exemplary outputs 42 are depicted on
the display 40 in FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B. Each exemplary output 42 includes
a text component 44 and a variant component 46. As can be seen from these
figures, the variant component 46 extends substantially horizontally
across the display 40. This, however, is not meant to be limiting since
the variant component 46 can also extend across the display 40
substantially vertically or can be otherwise disposed. Preferably, the
variant component 46 is located generally in the vicinity of the text
component 44. Referring to FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B, the variant component 46
includes a selectable output 48 that can be selected by the user for
possible output on the output apparatus 8 of the handheld electronic
device 2. The display 40 also includes a caret (cursor) 50 in the text
component 44 which depicts generally where the next output will be
displayed.

[0024] As stated above, a shortcoming of current disambiguation systems is
that indicators, which indicate that there are additional possible
intended inputs beyond the one or more possible intended inputs that are
currently being displayed, do not adequately tell the user of the
handheld electronic device 2 where the additional possible intended
inputs may be found.

[0025] The disclosed concept enables the handheld electronic device 2 to
overcome this shortcoming by having a routine 38 that is adapted to
display a single visual separator which not only represents that
additional subsets of the list of possible intended inputs (character
combination choices) are displayable on the output apparatus 8 of the
handheld electronic device 2 in response to the handheld electronic
device 2 detecting a navigational input in a particular direction, but it
also represents the direction in which the additional subsets may be
found.

[0026] By way of example, referring to FIGS. 1, 3, 3A, and 3B, when the
language that is currently operative on the handheld electronic device is
German and the user actuates the keys 18 on the handheld electronic
device 2 that correspond to "mannerfantasien", the disambiguation
function of the handheld electronic device 2 will generate a list of
three possible intended inputs in response to the detected ambiguous key
sequence. The three possible intended inputs are as follows: (1)
mannerfantasien (hereinafter, referred to as the first subset), (2)
mannredabyssieb (hereinafter, referred to as the second subset), and (3)
mannredabyssien (hereinafter, referred to as the third subset). The
variant component 46, however, is unable to contain all three possible
intended inputs simultaneously due to the length of each possible
intended input. Accordingly, the handheld electronic device 2 will
display only one possible intended input (i.e., a subset of the three
possible inputs) within the variant component 46 at any one time. It
should be noted, however, that despite FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B depicting one
possible intended input, in its entirety, being displayed within the
variant component 36, there may be instances when only a portion of the
possible intended input is displayed within the variant component 46.

[0027] Continuing with FIG. 3, upon detecting the ambiguous key sequence
that corresponds with "mannerfantasien", the handheld electronic device 2
will display "mannerfantasien" within the variant component 46 as well as
in the text component 44. As stated above, the variant component 46 is
unable to simultaneously contain all of the possible intended inputs.
Therefore, in order to assist the user in data entry, a first visual
separator 52 is displayed in the variant component 46 that allows the
user to ascertain whether or not there are additional subsets available
and where the additional subsets may be found. It should be noted that
despite FIG. 3 depicting the first visual separator 52 as being located
in the variant component 46, the first visual separator 52 can be located
anywhere on the display 40. The first visual separator 52 represents that
additional possible intended inputs are displayable within the variant
component 46, in place of the first subset, if the handheld electronic
device 2 detects a navigational input in a first direction. That is, the
first visual separator 52 visually separates an object that is being
output on the display 40 from another object, whether or not the another
object is also being currently output on the display 40. In the
embodiment that is depicted in FIG. 3, the first visual separator 52 is a
graphic 54 having a portion 56 that is elongated vertically and a
pointing portion 58 that points horizontally towards the first direction.
The elongated portion 56 of first visual separator 52 is also positioned
adjacent a first end 60 of the first subset which is indicative of a
navigational input in a first direction. That is, the first visual
separator 52 is positioned in the first direction with respect to the
first subset, and this provides an indication of the ability of a
navigational input in the first direction to retrieve additional
character combination choices that are undisplayed but are logically
disposed in the first direction with respect to the first subset.
Accordingly, when the handheld electronic device 2 detects a navigational
input from the trackball 36 to the "right" or a clockwise rotation of a
trackwheel (if a trackwheel is being used as the navigational input
member 16), either of which would be an input in the first direction, the
handheld electronic device 2 will replace "mannerfantasien" with the
second subset, "mannredabyssieb", in addition to replacing the first
visual separator 52 with a second visual separator 62.

[0028] Continuing with FIG. 3A, as can be seen from this figure,
"mannerfantasien" has been replaced with "mannredabyssieb" in the variant
component 46 as well as in the text component 44. Moreover, the first
visual separator 52 has been replaced with the second visual separator 62
which comprises a first component 64 and a second component 66. The first
component 64 comprises a portion 68 that is elongated vertically and a
pointing portion 70 that points horizontally towards the first direction.
Moreover, the first component 64 is also positioned adjacent a first end
71, i.e., the terminus, of the second subset which is indicative of a
navigational input in the first direction. The second component 66
comprises a portion 72 that is elongated vertically and a pointing
portion 74 that points horizontally towards a second direction. Unlike
the first component 64, the second component 66 is positioned adjacent a
second end 76, i.e., the beginning, of the second subset which is
indicative of a navigational input in the second direction. Similar to
the first visual separator 52, the first component 64 of the second
visual separator 62 represents that additional possible intended inputs
are displayable within the variant component 46 if the handheld
electronic device 2 detects a navigational input in the first direction.
However, unlike, the first visual separator 52, the second component 66
of the second visual separator 62 also represents that the first subset
can be displayable within the variant component 46 if the handheld
electronic device 2 detects a navigational input in a second direction.
Specifically, the second visual separator 62 represents that a third
subset is displayable within the variant component 46, in place of the
second subset, if the handheld electronic device 2 detects a navigational
input in the first direction (i.e., to the "right") while the first
subset is displayable within the variant component 46, in place of the
second subset, if the handheld electronic device 2 detects a navigational
input in the second direction (i.e., to the "left"). That is, the first
component 64 is positioned in the first direction with respect to the
second subset, and this provides an indication of the ability of a
navigational input in the first direction to retrieve additional
character combination choices that are undisplayed but are logically
disposed in the first direction with respect to the second subset.
Moreover, the second component 66 is positioned in the second direction
with respect to the second subset, and this provides an indication of the
ability of a navigational input in the second direction to retrieve
additional character combination choices that are undisplayed but are
logically disposed in the second direction with respect to the second
subset.

[0029] Upon detecting a navigational input to the "right" or a clockwise
rotation of the trackwheel, the handheld electronic device 2 will display
the third subset in place of the second subset. Specifically,
"mannredabyssieb" will be replaced with the third subset,
"mannredabyssien", in both the variant component 46 and the text
component 44 (see FIG. 3B). When this occurs, the second visual separator
62 will also be replaced with a third visual separator 78.

[0030] Alternatively, if the handheld electronic device 2 detects a
navigational input to the "left" or a counterclockwise rotation of the
trackwheel, either of which would provide a navigational input in the
second direction, then the handheld electronic device 2 will replace
"mannredabyssieb" with the first subset, "mannerfantasien", in addition
to replacing the second visual separator 58 with the first visual
separator 52.

[0031] Continuing with FIG. 3B, as can be seen from this figure,
"mannredabyssieb" has been replaced with the third subset,
"mannredabyssien", in the variant component 46 as well as in the text
component 44 because the handheld electronic device 2 detected a
navigational input in the first direction. Additionally, the second
visual separator 62 has been replaced with a third visual separator 78
which comprises a portion 80 that is elongated vertically and a pointing
portion 82 that points horizontally towards the second direction. As can
be seen from this figure, the third visual separator 78 is positioned
adjacent a second end 84 of the third subset which is indicative of a
navigational input in the second direction. The third visual separator 78
represents that the second subset is displayable within the variant
component 46 in place of the third subset if the handheld electronic
device 2 detects a navigational input in the second direction. Moreover,
the third visual separator 78 also represents that "mannredabyssien" is
the final choice among the possible intended inputs by not having another
component positioned adjacent a first end 86 of the third subset.

[0032] Upon detecting a navigational input to the "left" or a
counterclockwise rotation of the trackwheel, the handheld electronic
device 2 will replace "mannredabyssien" with the second subset,
"mannredabyssieb", in the both the variant component 46 and the text
component 44 (see FIG. 3A). Additionally, the third visual separator 78
will be replaced with the second visual separator 62.

[0033] Alternatively, if the handheld electronic device 2 detects a
navigational input to the "right" or a clockwise rotation of the
trackwheel, then the handheld electronic device 2 will replace
"mannredabyssien" with the first subset, "mannerfantasien", in both the
variant component 46 and the text component 44 in addition to replacing
the third visual separator 78 with the first visual separator 52. In
other words, a navigational input to the "right" or a clockwise rotation
of the trackwheel enables the user to continuously scroll through the
subsets.

[0034] It should be noted that in FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B, a language
indicator 88 is provided in the variant component 46. The language
indicator 88 is representative of a language that is currently operable
on the handheld electronic device 2. In these figures, "DE" represents
that German is the language that is currently operative on the handheld
electronic device 2.

[0035] It should also be noted that in other embodiments, the first,
second, and third visual indicator 52,62,78 may not have their respective
pointing portions 58,70,74,82.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 4, in yet another embodiment, the first subset
could comprise a plurality of alternative character choices wherein each
pair of adjacent alternative character combination choices is separated
by a visual separator 92 having a common appearance to the first visual
separator 52. In this particular embodiment, the variant component 46
does not have a language'indicator 88 and the first visual separator 52
comprises only a portion 56 that is vertically elongated.

[0037] FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of the disclosed
concept. As can be seen from this figure, the handheld electronic device
2 will detect an input at step 100. The handheld electronic device 2 will
then determine whether the detected input was an alphanumeric input at
step 102.

[0038] If the handheld electronic device 2 does determine at step 102 that
the detected input was an alphanumeric input, then the handheld
electronic device 2 will generate a number of character combination
choices based on the detected alphanumeric input using the text
disambiguation function of the handheld electronic device 2 at step 104.
The handheld electronic device 2 will then display an output that
comprises a subset of the character combination choices in addition to a
first visual separator 52 at step 106. For example, referring to FIG. 3,
the handheld electronic device 2 would display the first subset,
"mannerfantasien", in addition to the first visual separator 52 in
response to determining at step 102 that the detected input was an
alphanumeric input. Continuing with FIG. 5, after the output has been
displayed at step 106, the handheld electronic device 2 will then return
to step 100.

[0039] If the handheld electronic device 2 determines that the detected
input is not an alphanumeric input, then the handheld electronic device 2
will determine whether the detected input is a navigational input in a
first direction at step 108. If the handheld electronic device 2 does
determine that the detected input is a navigational input in the first
direction at step 108, then the handheld electronic device 2 will display
an output that comprises the next subset of the character combination
choices as well as the next visual separator. For example, referring to
FIG. 3A, the handheld electronic device 2 would display the second
subset, "mannredabyssieb", in place of the first subset in addition to
displaying the second visual separator 62 in place of the first visual
separator 52. After the output has been displayed at step 110, the
handheld electronic device 2 will return to step 100.

[0040] The handheld electronic device 2 will then detect yet another input
at step 100. Responsive to detecting the input, the handheld electronic
device 2 will determine whether the detected input was an alphanumeric
input at step 102. If the handheld electronic device 2 determines that
the input detected at step 102 is not an alphanumeric input, then the
handheld electronic device 2 will determine whether the detected input is
a navigational input in a first direction at step 108.

[0041] If the handheld electronic device 2 does determine that the
detected input is a navigational input in the first direction at step
108, then the handheld electronic device 2 will display an output that
comprises the next subset of the character combination choices as well as
the next visual separator. For example, referring to FIG. 3B, the
handheld electronic device 2 would display the third subset,
"mannredabyssien", in place of the second subset in addition to
displaying the third visual separator 78 in place of the second visual
separator 62. After the output has been displayed at step 110, the
handheld electronic device 2 will go to step 100.

[0042] Alternatively, if the handheld electronic device 2 determines that
the detected input is not a navigational input in the first direction at
step 108, then the handheld electronic device will determine whether the
detected input was a navigational input in a second direction at step
112.

[0043] If the handheld electronic device 2 does determine that the
detected input is a navigational input in the second direction at step
112, then the handheld electronic device 2 will display an output that
comprises the prior subset and the prior visual separator at step 114.
For example, referring to FIG. 3A, the handheld electronic device 2 would
display the second subset, "mannredabyssieb", in place of the third
subset in addition to displaying the second visual separator 62 in place
of the third visual separator 78. After the output has been displayed at
step 110, the handheld electronic device 2 will return to step 100.

[0044] Alternatively, if the handheld electronic device 2 determines that
the detected input was not a navigational input in the second direction
at step 112, then the handheld electronic device 2 will take other action
such as, without limitation, determining whether the detected input was a
selection input at step 116.

[0045] While specific embodiments of the disclosed and claimed concept
have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in
the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details
could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure.
Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be
illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the disclosed and
claimed concept which is to be given the full breadth of the claims
appended and any and all equivalents thereof.

Patent applications by Sherryl Lee Lorraine Scott, Waterloo CA

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